HAFLONG, July 7 - In all, 13 vehicles, including two-wheelers were seized by the Dima Hasao Police on the first day of the two-week lockdown for defying rules in connection with the pandemic, thereby realising a total fine of Rs 12,500 on the first day itself.
The lockdown order came into force after a directive was issued by the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairman of DDMA, Dima Hasao, Paul Barua, clearly stating the nature of activities exempted and prohibited during the lockdown, i.e., till July 19.
According to the order, all public and private vehicles are prohibited from plying on the road unless approved by the district administration on account of emergencies.
In this connection, the district administration released a list with the names of grocery shops at Haflong town that will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the two-week lockdown period.
The authority is reportedly contemplating to include more shops from suburban areas for the overall convenience of the local people and also to avoid large gatherings in the market place.
A similar plan is also being worked out for various other places within the district.
In the meantime, the 14-day lockdown in Dima Hasao, which started from yesterday, evoked very good response from the members of the public after realising the fact that by strictly maintaining the covid protocol, people can win the war against the pandemic.
Barring a few incidents of flouting norms, right from the morning hours, the roads of Haflong looked deserted as no public transport was on the road. The people, it may be mentioned, were not willing to come out unnecessarily.
Yesterday, people came out for purchasing essentials since very few grocery shops were allowed to open for the day. Today being Tuesday, no grocery shop was found open at Haflong.
Though there are instructions from the Council authority for keeping offices open with minimum staff, but most of the offices were found to be closed. Though the sufferings of people of the interior areas increased due to the lockdown, but local people by and large preferred to obey the norms set down by the government for their personal safety, besides that of others.